Let Down the Bars

Said the National Planning Association last week: "The belief that the future prosperity of the American economy depends on high tariffs is a myth."

In these forthright words N.P.A. trampled on the cherished fetish of many a U.S. businessman and farmer. In place of rigid protectionism, the Association blue-printed its own plan for a booming postwar trade. Nub of the plan: Expansion of foreign trade by a scaling-down in U.S. tariffs. Said the Association: "The fear that competition with 'cheap foreign labor' would destroy American labor standards and the American standard of living is without real substance."

The Association also called for approval of the Bretton Woods International Bank, along with an "adequate" currency stabilization plan. To supplement the lending power of the International Bank, the Association would boost the capital of the Export-Import Bank and the RFC, and would open the U.S. door to private loans abroad by dropping the Johnson Act.

The Association set a reasonable goal for U.S. postwar exports (in 1950) at $10 billion (best prewar year: $5 billion). But the Association warned that the U.S. must export some $3 billion in capital a year to build up foreign industries so that the U.S. could be paid for its exports in either 1) finished goods or 2) raw materials to make up for those depleted by war.

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